TheTunersGroup

Hi Roy, We'll be speaking this week to Ben @ The Real JDM who wrote the article about the Nurburgring 24hr race and will ask him for more info as you asked above. We will also ask Endless for info about this. We don't want to clog up Martin's thread with a discussion about Endless brakes at the Nurburgring 24 hour and the philosophy of hardcore JDM, so we'll post up the info from Ben / Endless in a separate thread when we receive it. Tried to move the initial reply at the top of this page to a separate thread, but missed the time limit to edit - apologies Martin. If everyone can refrain from replies about Endless brakes at the Nurburgring 24 hour and the philosophy of hardcore JDM until we have a new thread, that'd be great. A hardcore JDM thread would definitely be an interesting discussion. Have just sent a message to sewid to see if he can move the posts to a separate thread. Back to the topic of the Willall GT-R ... it's a seriously quick car - The Tuners Group

Hi Wheezy, We've been quoting that article about Endless brakes as an example of an attitude to building cars with timeless quality for many many months. We even quoted it back before we were appointed as an authorised dealer for Endless brakes - when we were in competition with companies which sold Endless brakes What we are getting at in our post above is an attitude to quality, which Justin referred to in his post that reads ... There is post here with a comment from both Martin and I about the quandary that companies that sell parts for GT-R's have in posting info on forums without it seeming like an ad ... http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...t&p=5121673 As mentioned above, some cars are still being built with the timeless attitude to quality just like the good old days that Justin mentioned. And there's nothing wrong at all with an R31 - they are great cars. - The Tuners Group

Hi Justin, There are still purists in Australia like us who keep that ethos strong and thriving, and a number of communities of people who still build cars just like they are built in Japan. True JDM is still just as relevant today as it has ever been, for the simple reason that true Made In Japan high end quality is timeless. Here are a couple of recent examples of some great work from Japan ... Ben at TheRealJDM wrote an article titled about timeless quality titled "Endless Brakes - Fo Sho!? Dispelling Popular Misconceptions" http://www.bespokeventures.com/blog/2009/0...misconceptions/ part of which reads ... If you'd like to drop me a PM or send us an email via our Contact Us page, I'll be happy to point you in the direction of a community in Australia where deep dish models of rare Japanese made racing wheels are standard fare and where hard core JDM is still treated with the reverence that it entirely deserves. Ben at TheRealJDM also wrote an article about an exquisite Japanese made business card holder made from ppre-preg carbon fibre in which he wrote ... "Sometimes, the goal isnt to sell the most…or even to sell any, but simply to be the best at your craft and to produce the very best thing possible". Photos of the business card holder and how it is made can be found here ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/TunerWire_Live/...ard_holder.html The simple fact is that cars are still being built with the timeless attitude to quality just like the good old days you mentioned. Some hard core JDM communities don't trumpet their existence, but they are out there ... and thriving

Hi Duncan, Thanks for sharing that. Mark Berry is a top bloke and is very very respected in Australian motorsport for not only achieving incredible results, but also for the way he conducts himself. The fact is that people rarely get to see in car videos of cars during testing when things are still being dialled in. If anything, the R34 testing video highlights the engineering challenges that need to be solved by May 21. The fact the R34 testing video gives everyone access to a part of the development process that is rarely seen publicly should be celebrated. Marlin wrote ... "Would you have prefered static pictures of Eastern Creek's grandstands?". Mark is absolutely not cocky of a win in any way. He has enormous respect for all the other teams at the event and I have never heard him say a single negative word about any other team or any other car. I for one would absolutely love to see Mark's car win it for Australia, but I also know (as does Mark and everyone involved with the car) that there is a lot of work to be done between now and May 21, and that the competition is some of the fastest time attack cars in the world. Regardless of who ends up winning World Time Attack Challenge, the fact is that this car was built in Australia in Mark's shed and is driven by the guy who built it, and that in itself is an amazing achievement ... If any of you have seen the the John Britten video "One Man's Dream", Mark's attitude to innovation and his proving that you really can build an incredible time attack car in your shed remind me of John Britten's attitude to innovation. There is a short video about John Britten and the incredible bike he built here ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/Videos/John_Britten_Video.html - The Tuners Group

Hi all, A new article appeared today at http://www.speedcafe.com.au/2010/03/29/aus...ed-for-12-hour/ which reads ... A comment in this article on Speedhunters about the Titan FIA GT1 R35... http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009/04/08...ia-gt1-r35.aspx reads ... "I would love to see a watered down GT2 (alms) or GT3 Fia Entry" I mean seriously - imagine cars like these but built to FIA GT3 specs at Bathurst racing against Porsche's, Mosler's and the like ... Does anyone know what date the 2011 Eligibility List for Australian GT will be released and specifically if the R35 will be eligible ? The 2009 list is here (the 350Z is listed as being eligible in GT Production in the 2009 eligibility list) ... http://www.australiangt.com.au/eligibility.php - Adam

Huge respect to the guys at CRD for this build - that's a mindblowing quarter mile time - Adam

Hi All, Checkout the photos posted today on Superlap.com.au of the Cyber Evo. According to the Superlap website ... More info here ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/TunerWire_Live/...ind_tunnel.html - Adam

The Sierra Sierra car is going to be quick. But I'd absolutely love to see this car win ... - Adam

That is NOT the case with the genuine Works Bell Rapfix II Ball Lock Quick Release. The genuine Works Bell Rapfix II Quick Releases are used by top teams in Japan including Team Orange, Team Hankook and Team DROO-P, and is also used on the JUN Evo X. A genuine Works Bell Rapfix II Quick Release (shown above with a Works Bell Short Steering Boss to allow for the length of the quick release without moving the steering wheel too close to the driver, and an optional yellow Works Bell Flipper for JAF & N1 Racing Regulations) is also used on the Australian R35 GT-R featured in this article on GTRblog ... http://www.gtrblog.com/2009/11/21/works-be...or-nissan-gt-r/ All genuine Works Bell Rapfix II Quick Releases are precision manufactured in Works Bell's factory in Nagano Japan, by a multi-step manufacturing process, using materials and manufacturing techniques specifically designed to provide excellent durability and very tight tolerances. The genuine Works Bell Rapfix II is constructed from billet high strength A5056 alloy, heat treated to H34 standard, then cold die forged. An Alumite oxide film is caused to form on the surface of the aluminium and stainless steel to produce a surface with superior corrosion and wear properties. This produces a hard alumite oxide film, that is harder than steel. Alumite performs beautifully on the exterior while reducing any wear from use. Works Bell invented the Ball Lock Quick Release Locking System as seen in the Works Bell Rapfix II. Works Bell also holds the patent on this system. Works Bell has NOT licensed the design of the Rapfix II to any other manufacturers anywhere in the world. PHOTO OF A WORN QUICK RELEASE THAT IS NOT A GENUINE WORKS BELL QUICK RELEASE Above is a photo taken at a Drift Australia event at Eastern Creek of a quick release that is NOT a genuine Works Bell product, which the detents that the balls lock onto had worn and elongated on. If the detents elongate and wear on products that are NOT genuine Works Bell products, the quick release no longer locks properly to the part attached to the steering column with the correct tolerances, the tolerances are then wrong, and you end up with play in the steering. With the genuine Works Bell Rapfix II specific materials and manufacturing techniques are used specifically designed to provide excellent durability and very tight tolerances. SAFETY TESTING In addition, The Works Bell Rapfix II meets the safety standards set by ASEA (Auto Sports & Special Equipment Association) which is the Japanese equivalent of SEMA. Works Bell's products have been subjected to a number of safety tests, including the following: - Material Hardness Test - Material Tensile Test - JASO C713 Static load bending test on steering wheel - JASO C713 Static load torsion test on steering wheel - JASO C713 Static load fatigue bending test on steering wheel - JASO C713 Static load fatigue torsion test on steering wheel Test methods for steering wheels including boss kits in Japan are defined by the public JASO standards and JIS Standards. For the Rapfix, high impact tests beyond what is normally met during accidents are conducted. So just like Rays Wheels developed their own safety standard for wheels that exceeds the normal Japanese standards, Works Bell test their products to standards above the Japanese safety standards requirements. Here is a photo of one of the test rigs which was used to put huge loads into a Rapfix II during the safety testing ... And finite element analysis is also carried out ... There is an article titled "How To Select A Steering Quick Release & How The Genuine Works Bell Rapfix II quick release is made" which contains full info about how the Works Bell Rapfix II is manufactured, safety testing info, and a number of photos of the manufacturing process. Click here for the article ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/How_To_Select_A...II_is_made.html - Waenick Pty Ltd Exclusive Australian Distributors for Works Bell

Hi Duncan, Keeping the temperatures right and getting enough airflow to keep Carbon-Ceramic Matrix brakes in their ideal temperature range is very very important. There is a post on Nagtroc posted by "AP Racing - Chris_B" here that talks about the importance of cooling and keeping the temperatures right with Carbon-Ceramic Matrix brakes ... http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?sh...mp;#entry466826 We're sorting a custom set of Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes (PCCB) for a customer of ours at the moment who is building a monster early 911. As shown in the photo above, the Porsche PCCB's are supplied by Porsche as a two piece set up with hat. Because they are a two piece with hat setup, the Porsche PCCB's can be fitted to almost any car with appropriately sized wheels (including non Porsche applications like the R35 GT-R and many other cars) by properly engineering a custom hat and caliper adapter. We're also sorting a similar custom setup at the moment to fit a set of Porsche PCCB's to one of the Scandinavian time attack cars - they build some wild cars in that part of the world On the early 911 we're also designing a custom setup to retrofit the new centrelock wheel system from the 2010 GT-3 to the early 911 (see http://porschebahn.files.wordpress.com/200.../components.jpg ) We have inhouse CAD design facilities and a wide range of brake rotors, calipers and wheels in our CAD systems, so that definitely speeds the custom design process. On both the BMW project and the early 911 project, we'll definitely be providing a lot of cooling airflow to keep the temps right. There is more info on the Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes and a link to a test of the PCCB's by European Car Magazine here ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/porsche_brakes.html - Adam

Spot on Lippo. - Adam

Awesome. A new sneak peek video has also been released today for the World Time Attack Challenge. Click here for the video ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/Videos/wtac_2.html - Adam

It's an awesome video Andrew - congratulations to you and your crew at Motive DVD on a job well done and some awesome footage that really captures just how fast these top level time attack cars are. - Adam

Hi Kimbod, As mentioned by others in this thread, the car had an issue with the 4WD system which was contributing to the rear wheelspin on the day the video was shot. We were at the test with Mark's team - we are Aeromotions' exclusive Australian and NZ distributors. The change of wing angle from the high downforce braking setting to the high speed cornering position is intentional and the wing angle is adjustable. The Aeromotions wing has it's own computer that controls the wing, and has inputs from the speed sensor and an accelerometer that detects g-force etc. There are 4 adjustable wing angle settings on the Aeromotions R2.TWO wing: 1. Straightline setting 2. Braking setting 3. Low speed cornering setting 4. High speed cornering setting Each of those 4 settings can be set to a different angle, so the aero can be dialled in for each setting with different wing angles for straightline, braking, low speed cornering and high speed cornering. If you have a look at the video here ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/Videos/berry_ec_test_mar3.html ... the part shown at 3 mins 2 seconds into the video is of the braking area at the end of the straight as the car brakes for turn one, so what you are seeing in the early part of that shot is the wing in the high downforce braking angle setting. In the later part of that shot, as Mark then gets off the brakes, the wing flattens out again, but the angle it flattens to (the high speed cornering angle) is also completely tunable and adjustable. There is another good shot of the wing popping up into the high downforce braking position as the car passes under the bridge at 3 min 57 s. You can see sequences of the wing flattening into a low drag straightline setting as it comes out of corners and onto straight sections at 4 min 3 s and 4 min 30 s in the video. Yes active aero has been used in a number of classes of racing over the years. Unlike systems that change wing angle with throttle position, with the computer control of the Aeromotions Dynamic Wing the angle of the wing does not change constantly in the corner as the throttle angle changes. As seen in the photo above, there are two electronic linear actuators that move the wing into different angles. The video was the first test day with the new Aeromotions Dynamic Wing on the car, and we have 9 weeks until World Time Attack, so the aero will be well and truly dialled in by then. Two weeks ago, Australian racer Duncan Forrest smashed the Class 4D lap record at Eastern Creek in his R35 GT-R with an Aeromotions Dynamic Wing by 1.3 seconds. The old record had stood since 2005. See ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/TunerWire_Live/..._EC_record.html The Aeromotions Dynamic Wings are a known quantity and are proven to cut lap times. They are used on a number of the world's top time attack cars including the Crawford Subaru WRX STi, AMS/NOS Energy Drink EVO X, and Cannonball R35 GT-R. More info about teams using the Aeromotions Dynamic Wings and the lap time improvements they have achieved can be found here ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/Products/aeromotions.html So there is no question that we will get the Aeromotions Dynamic Wing dialled in and working very well on Mark Berry's R34 for World Time Attack Challenge - getting things dialled in is exactly what test days are for. - Adam

The part shown at 3 mins 2 seconds into the video is of the braking area at the end of the straight as the car brakes for turn one, so what you are seeing in the early part of that shot is the wing in the high downforce braking setting. In the later part of that shot, as Mark then gets off the brakes, the wing flattens out again. There is another good shot of the wing popping up into the high downforce braking position as the car passes under the bridge at 3 min 57 s. You can see sequences of the wing flattening into a low drag straightline setting as it comes out of corners and onto straight sections at 4 min 3 s and 4 min 30 s in the video. - Adam

Hi Mark, There is a new video here of Mark Berry's Advan / Hi Octane Racing R34 GT-R from the test day we did at Eastern Creek last Wednesday with some in car footage of the R34 and some footage of the Aeromotions Dynamic Wing in action, along with some comments from Mark Berry ... the car is an absolute weapon ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/Videos/berry_ec_test_mar3.html There is an article here with photos from the test ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/TunerWire_Live/...st_ec_mar3.html - Adam

Hi Bozman1, Here are a couple of photos of turn one just after Russ's "moment" ... There was a brake issue but Russ managed to slow the car with the handbrake heading into turn one - pretty amazing bit of driving really. It just touched the wall on the inside of turn one. It did look like a pretty wild ride though. We were out there last Wednesday with Mark Berry doing some aero testing on the R34 ... the R34 is now running one of our Aeromotions Dynamic Wings ... There is a video here of the R34 on the test day at Eastern Creek shot by Andrew Hawkins from Motive DVD with some in car footage of the R34 ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/Videos/berry_ec_test_mar3.html There is an article here with photos from the test ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/TunerWire_Live/...st_ec_mar3.html - Adam

Hi Duncan, Suspension technology has come a long way in recent years through a number of innovations. As I wrote above, the key is in the range of adjustability when it comes to shocks ... Sure, the spring rate can be a compromise unless you are building an all out track car, and there are differences in noise and harshness between street car bushings vs rosejoints etc, and how much camber you want to run on a street car, so how far you go with a car and the exact combination of parts is always is a decision for the owner of the car. But in terms of shocks, technology has come a very long way in recent years. Indeed many people overseas who track their cars but also do some road use specifically fit particular racing shocks so that they can get the wide range of adjustability that they need for track use and road use. Everyone has different preferences in terms what they consider acceptable harshness on the street in terms of bushes and spring rates etc, but it is very doable these days to have a setup that performs very well on the street, with a few adjustments made on track days to adjust the car to it's track settings. Unless a car is only used on the track, we wouldn't recommend going for the "ultimate" track setup (which might include specific spring rates, camber settings, rosejoints and other parts that might not be ideal on the street). As I wrote above, the most appropriate suspension to suit a car depends on the type of racing you do, if your car is used on track days and on the road or only at the track, how much road driving you do etc, and your budget. So I guess what this comes down to is whether someone is looking for "the ultimate track only" setup, or "the best setup for a car that is used on the street and at the track", which are quite different things. Which of those two are you looking for Jeremy ? - Adam

Awesome result Duncan and great to see another lap record being set by a car with an Aeromotions Dynamic Wing 1.323 seconds is a large amount to beat the old record by. Congratulations ! - Adam

Hi Mark, Shown above is the in-car remote that you can use to adjust the wing settings if you want to run your own tune. The remote can be mounted within reach of the driver. The Aeromotions R2 Dynamic Wings come with a plug and play tune specifically developed for your car. The remote is simple and easy to use, and full info on how to adjust the wing angles with the remote is in the user manual. The wing angle can be changed in just a few seconds. - Adam

We have a similar quandary in that we have a lot of knowledge about R35 parts but also sell parts for R35's (including JRZ Suspension for R35's). So often the people on this forum with the knowledge to answer questions like Jeremy's and what works on the R35 are parts suppliers. It's often hard for us to answer questions about parts like R35 suspension that we have knowledge about without it seeming like an ad, especially in cases like where Jeremy asked ... "dont know details, dont want an expensiuve reinvention of the wheel process" ... so I'll keep our reply factual and general, won't post links to the JRZ Suspension section on our website and will try to make it not read like an ad ... Jeremy, the most appropriate model of adjustable dampers to suit your car depend on the type of racing you do, if your car is used on track days and on the road or only at the track, how much road driving you do etc, and your budget. In terms of the old "racing dampers vs street dampers" debate, recent advances in shock design now make possible some adjustable racing shocks that have a very wide range of shock setting adjustability and can be adjusted for a relatively comfortable ride on the road, yet still have enough adjustment for them to be dialled in at the track with settings that work very well at the track without compromising track performance and lap times. In the past, some people considered the racing dampers vs street dampers argument to be a "choose one or the other" kind of deal, but these days there are some racing shocks that can be valved to give both excellent street performance AND excellent track performance. The key is in how much adjustment range the shocks have. Having a shock with a wide range of adjustability can also allow you to use a range of spring rates and eliminate the worry of having to constantly re-valve the shocks every time you want to increase or decrease your spring rate. Additionally racing dampers from some manufacturers can be rebuilt with spare parts readily available. Key to getting the most out of any adjustable shock setup is the time spent in setting the car's suspension up and doing the adjustments, and the skills and experience of the engineer doing the setup. The skill of a suspension engineer can make a big difference to the end result and lap times. Just like the results from an engine tune are reliant on the skill of the dyno operator or tuner who is tuning the car, the same thing applies to tuning and setting up adjustable suspension. For JRZ Suspension setup we have an arrangement for our Australian customers with the engineer who did the suspension for the late Peter Brock with his Targa Monaro and Nations Cup Monaro’s, and is also a consultant engineer to Eibach Springs, Ford Racing, Firestone USA, Tenix Defence and Hyundai Motor Company. Back in the Formula Ford days the car was changed to a very high quality adjustable shock setup, and they made a huge difference to lap times. In addition, we were able to dial in the car's suspension quickly at different tracks, and after using those adjustable shocks on the Formula Ford, I couldn't imagine running without them. As always, with suspension you get what you pay for ... In general terms, while some adjustable racing shocks can be more expensive to purchase initially than some street shocks, when you look at the lap times possible with a set of properly setup and adjusted high quality adjustable racing shocks vs the cost of the shocks, high quality properly set up and adjusted adjustable racing shocks can yield a given lap time improvement at a cost that is lower than achieving a similar lap time improvement via some other car tuning methods, so high quality adjustable shocks can give a high level of "bang for the buck". And if you use a set of shocks that are rebuildable you can rebuild them when required, instead of having to replace them with new shocks. - Adam

Hi handbrake, I'll ask Mark Berry on Monday for an official comment about the performance of the Advan / Hi Octane Racing R34 GT-R with the Aeromotions Dynamic Wing. We can't (and wouldn't) post any test data from Mark's R34 without the team's permission. Generally top teams in events like the World Time Attack Challenge don't publish their testing lap times as there is no point in letting the overseas cars know how what lap times the R34 is doing We had video cameras on the R34 on Wednesday at Eastern Creek, and the video is absolutely mindblowing - the R34 is an absolute weapon. I'll ask Mark if we can post some segments from the video footage on Monday. Yep Duncan, confidence is a big factor at turn one at Eastern Creek. It's a lot smoother now than it was a few years ago - does anyone else remember the old surface change in turn one ? The Supercharged 911 would step out at the rear as it hit the surface change in turn one - "interesting" at that speed There is a video of it doing that in turn one in the second video on this page ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/Videos/Supercharged_911.html - Adam

Hi Al, A number of teams running the Aeromotions Dynamic Wings have already publicly released info on their lap time improvements with the Aeromotions Dynamic Wing. Physics works exactly the same way in Australia as it does in the US, so the US results are just as relevant to Australia. Aeromotions also did a back to back test at Thunderhill Raceway. As it says on our website, lap times at the back to back test were ... You can find links to the test data and a video of the back to back test with Traqmate Data Acquisition, a summary of the data and info about the car, driver and testing methodology, detailed turn by turn data analysis including plots turn by turn of the lateral G-force, acceleration and braking G-force, velocity, and time difference here ... http://www.tunersgroup.com/Products/aeromotions.html There are a bunch of comments here from various teams about the lap time improvements they have had running the Aeromotions Wing ... http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...t&p=4916143 - Adam

That's great to know LSX-438 - Adam

The words "firmly fixed whilst the automobile is in motion" need to be clarified for their exact meaning. We will check with CAMS about this. Schedule F of the CAMS general requirements for cars and drivers does NOT specifically say "active aero is not allowed" - so we will check with CAMS to check if the meaning of "firmly fixed" simply means something like "securely attached so that aero parts do not fly off the car". If you look at the number of cars that now have active aero as factory standard equipment (including the Mitsubishi GTO / GT3000, Bugatti Veyron, McLaren F1 roadcar, Porsche Panamera, and Ferrari 458 Italia), active aero is becoming more popular as a factory feature. - Adam